Vietnamese, Chinese localities discuss facilitation of cross-border tourism

A forum was held in Mong Cai city, the northeastern province of Quang Ninh, on December 1 to discuss measures for promoting cross-border tourism through the international border gate pair of Mong Cai (Vietnam) and Dongxing (China).

Ho Quang Huy, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Chairman of the People’s Committee of Mong Cai city, said the work is necessary for not only socio-economic development in border areas but also cultural exchanges, cooperation, and friendship between the two countries.

Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST), said that sharing road, air and sea borders, Vietnam and China hold highly favourable conditions for tourism cooperation. Over the recent past, the tourism partnership between Quang Ninh and the neighbouring Chinese province of Guangxi has substantially contributed to the two countries’ tourism ties, helping improve people’s life and consolidate a border of peace and friendship.

Li Jian, Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Mayor of Dongxing city, noted this is the most attractive tourism product of his city. The number of cross-border tourists has surged so far this year with more than 120,000 Vietnamese visitors to Dongxing.

He suggested the two sides increase policy discussion, jointly build model tourist sites, form maritime tours, optimise customs clearance infrastructure and enhance inter-sectoral cooperation at border gates, open high-quality cross-border tours, and establish a “green” lane for self-drive tours.

They should also step up exchanges in terms of culture, sports, education, and health care while continuing to strengthen the friendship between the Chinese and Vietnamese peoples, he added.

For her part, Deputy Director of the Quang Ninh Tourism Department Nguyen Huyen Anh held that the two sides should improve the effectiveness of existing cooperation mechanisms and consider new cooperation models matching each locality and each country’s potential, advantages, conditions, and development priorities to create breakthroughs in tourism cooperation.

They need to bolster coordination in information sharing and market forecasting, especially about the two countries’ legal regulations and the two localities’ policies on tourism. In addition, they should work to ensure sustainable tourist exchanges, a healthy business climate for both sides’ businesses, and a safe and friendly environment and quality services for visitors, she said.

Anh also recommended building a cross-border tourism cooperation programme between border provinces of Vietnam and Guangxi and Yunnan provinces of China.

At the forum, representatives of travel firms and hotels also raised suggestions and proposals to foster cross-border tourism, expand the markets, and stimulate travel demand.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, China was constantly the biggest source of foreign tourists to Vietnam, accounting for about 30% of the total international arrivals in the Southeast Asian country. In 2019, Vietnam welcomed over 5.8 million Chinese visitors, according to the MCST.

Meanwhile, Vietnam was also one of the five largest sources of foreign tourists to China, which recorded over 7.9 million Vietnamese travellers in 2019 as calculated by the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

During the first 11 months of 2023, more than 11.2 million international tourists came to Vietnam, including over 1.5 million Chinese arrivals, statistics show./.
VNA